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Top Rated ETFs

By TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet Ratings offers a conservative, balanced approach for selecting an exchange-traded fund (ETF). If you already own shares in an ETF or are considering making a new investment, consult the TheStreet Investment Ratings to gain a little more peace of mind.

Below, we've put together a few lists of top ETFs -- grouped by investment strategy and asset allocation -- to get your research started.

What Our ETF Ratings Mean:

A (Excellent) - The ETF has an excellent track record for maximizing performance while minimizing risk, thus delivering the best possible combination of total return on investment and reduced volatility. It has made the most of the recent economic environment to maximize risk-adjusted returns compared to other ETFs. While past performance is just an indication -- not a guarantee -- we believe this fund is among the most likely to deliver superior performance relative to risk in the future as well.

B (Good) - The ETF has a good track record for balancing performance with risk. Compared to other ETFs, it has achieved above-average returns given the level of risk in its underlying investments. While the risk-adjusted performance of any ETF is subject to change, we believe that this fund has proven to be a good investment in the recent past.

C (Fair) - In the trade-off between performance and risk, the ETF has a track record which is about average. It is neither significantly better nor significantly worse than most other ETFs. With some funds in this category, the total return may be better than average, but this can be misleading since the higher return was achieved with higher than average risk. With other funds, the risk may be lower than average, but the returns are also lower. In short, based on recent history, there is no particular advantage to investing in this fund.

D (Weak) - The ETF has underperformed the universe of other funds given the level of risk in its underlying investments, resulting in a weak risk-adjusted performance. Thus, its investment strategy and/or management has not been attuned to capitalize on the recent economic environment. While the risk-adjusted performance of any ETF is subject to change, we believe that this fund has proven to be a bad investment over the recent past.

E (Very Weak) - The ETF has significantly underperformed most other funds given the level of risk in its underlying investments, resulting in a very weak risk-adjusted performance. Thus, its investment strategy and/or management has done just the opposite of what was needed to maximize returns in the recent economic environment. While the risk-adjusted performance of any ETF is subject to change, we believe this fund has proven to be a very bad investment in the recent past.

+ (Plus Sign) - An indication that the fund is in the top third of its letter grade.

- (Minus Sign) - An indication that the fund is in the bottom third of its letter grade.

U (Unrated) - The ETF is unrated because it is too new to make a reliable assessment of its risk-adjusted performance. Typically, a fund must be established for at least three years before it is eligible to receive a TheStreet Investment Rating.